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How do you build, grow and nurture an online community? Over the
past several years, I have worked hard to build and grow vibrant
and interactive communities on social channels including Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram and Google+. Building a following takes time
and effort, and there are no shortcuts. As someone with more than
377,000 Twitter followers (all organic), people often ask me how
they can succeed in social media. My simple answer is that you
get out of it what you put into it. The more effort you put in,
the greater ROI you will receive. Unfortunately, people aren't
always happy with that answer. Too often, people look for instant
results. But creating and building online communities simply
doesn’t work that way: It's a long road.

The key is to create compelling content that resonates with your
community, then create interactions around that content to build
your audience.

For those that need a little help, here are a few bits of advice:

Seize opportunities to build your brand. Be
smart in spotting opportunities to build your brand. Be generous:
If all you do is take, people will stop responding to your
emails. Instead, establish partnerships with other key
influencers in your niche. Serve as a trusted curator and provide
your growing audience with high-quality content that aligns with
their interests and passions. (Of course, you must first get to
know their interests and passions through interacting with them
online.) This will build your thought leadership and authenticity
with your community and will help build your brand.

Although lists are often purely subjective, if you are fortunate
enough to be included on a list of top social-media influencers
published by a well-known personality or media outlet, view it as
a positive development. Besides someone else declaring that you
are influential, this will be seen as validation of your skills
and leadership by your community. Achieving sufficient prominence
on social media to be top of mind for such lists also takes hard
work, dedication and focus: People can’t list you if they’ve
never heard of you or seen your posts.

If you are not already doing so, follow them on their social
networks. Reach out and say hello. Take the opportunity to
establish new contacts and relationships. You never know where
the serendipity of social media might take you.

As you build your online network, opportunities will materialize.
Act on the right opportunities -- the ones that will pay off in
terms of brand recognition, money or some other benefit. Then set
yourself to the task of achieving the desired results. For
instance, if your dream client wants you to drum up mentions on
Instagram, take and share eye-catching photos. Write pithy
captions. Reply to people’s comments. Share your Instagram photos
for the brand across your other social channels to help the
campaign gain traction.

Invest your time and attention in what you want to create. Don’t
stop until you’ve done the job.

Learn to work with others. There’s always
something new you can learn. Keep an open mind. Think in terms of
abundance and friendly competition, rather than being territorial
or defensive. Support other blogs, and look for opportunities to
collaborate with others. Select partners wisely, and you will
build a powerful team. The social-media universe is practically
infinite: There’s room for everyone to succeed.

We all have different strengths, voices and perspectives and that
diversity is key in building powerful and supportive communities.
Treat people as allies, not assets, and your community will grow.

Stay positive and consistent. Remember to have
fun with your audience. Think of your social channels as
television stations. Keep it fun, positive and engaging, so
your audience will enjoy tuning in. To stay relevant on multiple
social channels, you need to consistently create entertaining and
valuable content.

Build a vibrant community. Success on social media happens when
you create meaningful relationships with others and maintain a
consistent focus on building your brand. Gaining a following on
social media takes a lot of work and, as with most things worth
doing, there are NO shortcuts.

Are you striving to be influential on social media? What
strategies do you follow? Are they working? Let us know your
thoughts in the comment section below.